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Modified Patrick Henry Speech
The original speech was given by Patrick Henry, a great man who would surely go on a rampage with the current stifling wave of censorship going through Congress, on March 23, 1775. This speech was delivered at St. John's Church in Virginia and is credited with convincing the Virginia House of Burgesses to pass a resolution delivering Virginia's troops into the American Revolution. Other delegates present were Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The Original Speech Unfortunately, no direct text of the original speech survives and the closest recordings are from those who had been there, pieced painstakingly together over time by historians and politicians alike in an attempt to discover Patrick Henry's secret that stirred the hearts of so many. Also unfortunate is the fact that the original speech's reconstructions are stuffed with Biblical references, hence the use of the speech directly is no longer fully appropriate given the Free World today. However, we the authors of this wiki have managed to make things more universally applicable by slight alterations of the speech to relevance in our current dark times. The modified parts of the speech below are bolded. Modified Speech No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the Peoples of the Free World. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the World is one of awful moment to this Planet. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to our deities, whoever they are, and our countr'ies'. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly governments. People of the Free World, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the World’s governments'for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves '(deletion here). Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are heavily armed policemen, laws for indefinite detention, laws for stripping of citizenship rights, (See Battle of H.R. 3166) fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which Dictators resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Have the Governments of the “Free World” any enemy, in their parts of the world, to call for all this accumulation of Police, Laws, '''navies and armies? No, sir, '''they have none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the Dictators'''have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last '''many years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the world’s democracies, and have implored their interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the Dictators and Corporations. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the world’s democracies! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free—if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending—if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained—we must Resist! I repeat it, sir, we must Resist! An appeal to stealth, growth and Uprising'is all that is left us! '(Wiki’s Note: Reminder, this is not and will never be serious so long as ACTA is not enforced, however, if it is enforced, please keep to a stealthy resistance until the Uprising. Also, the amassing of weapons, recruits and information during the Dark Days does not count as lying supinely on our backs.) They tell us, men, women and children of the Free World, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a Dictator guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the Internet and Human Rights have placed in our power. The b'''illions of people, armed in the holy cause of '''Life, Liberty, Love and the Pursuit (and not Purchase) of Happiness, and in such a world as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just deity (whatever we may call it and its streams of consciousness, be it God, Allah, Buddha, the Hindu gods, or any other name)'''who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no '''choice. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard across the surface '''of the Earth'! The war', be it a war of the computer keyboard, pen, guns, or sticks and stones,is inevitable—and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the rest of the Free World will bring to our ears the rattling of pre-emptive machine-gun fire against civilian protestors! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty '''(word deleted here for better non-religious tone)! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! This Wiki's Words That came out a lot more extreme than we expected. We do not and will never condone violence unless the police open fire with live ammunition on the protestors first. Our improvised body armour will ward off their trucheons, our shield-walls will ward off theirs, our improvised gas masks and goggles will filter out their tear gas, pepper spray, and smoke grenades, while shoulder to shoulder rank upon rank we hold solid against their attempts to disorient and scatter us so that they may pick us off one by one. We will not succumb to attrition, we will not allow ACTA and all the attempts to ratify it wear us down into submission. The Peoples of the Free World are one people, with one vision, one purpose. We control our governments, not the reverse. Millions died throughout history fighting for freedom against tyranny, if we shoudl submit, they would claw their way out of their graves and haunt us and humanity for all posterity. Will be submit? NO. For an example of the sheer absurdity of US laws trying to ratify ACTA, Intel's big boss said he'd need 1 billion dollars a year more to run a plant in the US than a third-world country. According to him, 90% of that is from corporate taxes, environmental taxes, inspections, and other things third-world countries don't enforce or don't legislate. If the US is so concerned, with the attempts by SOPA/PIPA to ratify ACTA and protect "US Intellectual Property" it follows that they would not allow advanced intellectual property like CPUs, computers or ANY machinery designed by Us businesses to be made elsewhere, or allow any imports of such goods. Oh wait,t hat clashes with the Corporations' best interests (read: profit margins), hmm, well then they DON'T CARE about leaking tehcnologies or other intellectual property. Then the Motion Picture Association of America and Recording Industry Association of America lobby (read: pay off) the Congressmen to care and they start yakking. Maybe they should shut up and figure out where most of their votes come from, not from corporations (especially not Us corporations for non-US countries in ACTA) by from the People of the Free World. The corporations could try orcing their employees to vote for given people, but then they'd have a peasant rebellion on their hands. If they actually try pressuring us like that, well, it was about time for some change anyways. It is inevitable and natural (evolution demands it) that society should be divided between owners and workers, but it is NOT inevitable nor natural that billionairs should use tax loopholes they installed themselves to pay less than half the income tax rate of their secretaries. It is NOT inevitable that their greed should see so much business outsourced that, as they live their decadent lives in huge mansions they built or bought in the tropics, 14% of the United States (biggest current sufferer of Corporate Syndrome) waits hours in long bread and soup lines. 44 million people spend their days clutching to the meagre food stamps they were issued and trying to stay warm in the biting cold of winter, and a souple hundred billionaires are practically paying no taxes (15%, their secretaries are paying 40% income tax) and laughing at the "ants" waiting in line in the streets below for whatever scraps these fabulously wealthy few care to fling our way.